Written evidence submitted by •              The UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres (COM0090)

Executive Summary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The National Picture of Science and Discovery Centres

 

  1. The UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC) brings together over 60 of the UK’s major science engagement organisations. Together ASDC members engage 20 million adults and children every year with science and engineering, involving and inspiring them with hands-on creative science challenges, activities and practical science. Over 10 million of those who participate are women and girls. Around 2 million school students visit each year who participate in inspirational curriculum-linked workshops, activities and labs. The Association’s centre’s span all regions and countries of the UK and reach out into a huge number of ‘hard to reach’ communities.

 

  1. Science Centres go much further than engagement via an exhibition. They provide a wide range of science education and outreach programmes for school groups and the public. They make a significant contribution to raising science capital and to the encouragement of young people to consider STEM courses and, careers in science and engineering. They are centres of excellence in science engagement, providing methods, contexts and equipment for science teaching to which schools do not otherwise have access. They have skilled science engagement professionals on staff with the talent and passion to maximize these science assets. 

 

  1. Science Centres are vibrant self-funding charities. Most Science Centres operate with no recourse to public funds. They supplement income with trading activities such as venue hire, corporate events, space rental, shop and café sales, science consultancy and commissioned work for STEM-related businesses and universities. Science centres are lean, nimble and entrepreneurial businesses. These trading activities are vital to the wellbeing of the charity and are considered ‘mission-enabling’ in that they allow centres to undertake more science educational work and reaching wider audiences.

Science Centres Inspiring Young People with STEM

 

  1. Each year, two million school students participate in inspirational curriculum-linked science workshops, STEM activities and science practicals at UK science and discovery centres and museums.

 

  1. Evidence from the ASPIRES report shows clearly the importance of building family science capital in helping young people to want to pursue science and to feel that 'Science is for me'. ASDC and the science centres are central in developing this capital with the 20 million families and schools that participate each year.

 

  1. Every week, UK Science and Discovery Centres and museums encourage 385,000 adults and children to experiment, explore, discuss and delve into the world of science, technology, engineering and the environment. This is important given that school students spend 80% of their waking time out of school[1], and that young people said, although they received careers advice from a variety of sources, advice and input from their family was the most common and most useful in shaping their career choices.[2]

 

  1. Science Centres run innovative future-focused programmes which can encourage students to study science. Evidence of this is widespread and includes students either at schools with no track record of Physics A level, or in families with no history of higher education, progressing into STEM courses for the first time.

‘Hands-on DNA’ ASDC in partnership with the Wellcome Trust

  1. ASDC runs a number of National Strategic Science Engagement Programmes, for example ASDC’s national molecular biology programme ‘Hands-on DNA’ funded by the Wellcome Trust. The independent evaluation of this programme for schools and delivered by 18 UK Science Centres showed that of the 1500 students evaluated:

And their teachers said…

*Further results are given in Appendix 2.

‘Explore Your Universe’, ASDC in partnership with the research council STFC

  1. ASDC created and led a major National Strategic Programme ‘Explore Your Universe’, in partnership with the research council STFC. This programme engaged students and families with the latest in physics and engineering. In just one year of delivery, Phase 1 engaged 156,880 people through a range of activities, including curriculum-linked workshops, family shows and meet the expert sessions. Over half of those reached were women and girls. This included 45,852 people who met an expert engineer or scientist, 59,236 who took part in the half-hour family show in a science centre, and 9,400 school students aged 10-13 who took part in a one hour workshop. Also participating were 3,174 school students aged 14-16 who spent two hours exploring the latest science in the masterclasses, 1,225 teachers and 3,659 young people in ‘badged groups’ (brownies, guides, cubs, scouts etc). This programme continues and we are delighted that STFC showed the vision and leadership in engaging the schools and public with great UK science through this accessible programme.

 

  1. As part of ‘Explore Your Universe’, ASDC then commissioned an independent academic impact study of this national science engagement programme funded by STFC. This evaluation and impact study of Phase 1 of Explore Your Universe is the largest study of its kind in the world. This showed clear engagement by girls and women in physics and engineering and that when engagement is done well, there is no difference between how school girls and boys rate their enjoyment of, and interest in, physics, or their desire to study it further or take a career in it. The results of this programme are given in Appendix 1.

 

  1. Phase 2 of Explore Your Universe completed in March 2016 and reached 180,128 people in schools and family groups with physics and engineering workshops and shows. The overall academic evaluation of this programme (by science education experts at Bristol University) considered the responses of 1,400 school students and found that:

 

Overall, this programme created and delivered by ASDC has reached 347,008 school children and adults with high-end physics (particle accelerators, space science, engineering), celebrating the people and stories of this exciting area of UK science.

Destination Space: ASDC in partnership with The UK Space Agency

  1. Destination Space is a national STEM engagement programme led by ASDC and funded by the UK Space Agency. It has the vision of engaging, inspiring and involving families with school-age children, school groups and communities across the UK with the amazing stories, science and achievements of human spaceflight, as part of a national celebration of Tim Peake's Principia mission.

In partnership with the National Space Centre, Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre and the Science Museum, ASDC created and developed Destination Space, a national programmes for schools and the public. ASDC then selected, trained and equipped 20 UK Science Centres to run the full Destination Space programme, including an interactive hands-on family show, three curriculum-linked schools STEM workshops designed for ages 5 - 7, 7 - 11 and 11 - 14, a series of ‘meet the expert’ activities and a host of special events to inspire people across the nation with Tim Peake’s mission.

The resources of 20 UK science centres have been mobilised to deliver this national programme, offering families, schools and communities across the UK unusual and exciting opportunities to discover, question, test and explore science and the latest adventures in space science.

Since its launch in October 2015, the Destination Space programme has engaged 296,451 people including 31,030 who took part in specific schools workshops and events. In just the first 4 months of this ASDC programme, the science centres have exceeded their 2 year delivery target of reaching 250,000 children and adults. ASDC also created the Destination Space Website, www.Destination space.uk to enable people to continue engaging with the science and adventure of Tim Peake’s Mission online, completing mission modules and finding out which space crew role could best suit them.

Destination Space has already engaged 296,451 people with STEM and human spaceflight, and based on these numbers, the cost per head is already approximately £2.31. This will reduce considerably by the end of the programme in 2017 as delivery continues across the spring and summer of 2016 and beyond.

Other programmes

  1. In 2010, 30 girls from Sir Jonathan North Community College in Leicester (an all-girls’ school) attended regular scheduled National Space Academy master classes as part of their curriculum study programme in support of their formal school-based lessons. At the end of the academic year, the Head of Biology said, “This year, 100% of our girls achieved C to A* with 63% achieving an A or A* [in GCSE physics] which is absolutely exceptional. In the past I asked students at the end of Year 11 if any of them were going to take physics A level and you’d be lucky to get one. Now, at least a third to a half of those students raise their hands and say, ‘yes, we’re going to take physics post-16’. It is absolutely incredible”. Of the 30 students, eleven went on to do physics A level.

 

  1. Science Centres set aside specific days for pre-school children to participate in science programmes with their parents or with formal nursery groups. All provide STEM workshops and programmes for 5-14 year olds in formal school groups to help them with their school work and encourage them to stick with science subjects at GCSE level. Some, working with universities, colleges and businesses, have more intense programmes for GCSE and A level science students and their teachers to improve attainment and encourage students to consider further course and career options in science and engineering. A few of these partnerships are leading to apprenticeship and higher apprenticeship programmes in order to directly boost the UK science and engineering skills pool.

 

  1. Nationally and internationally there is plenty of evidence of the impact that Science Centres have on their participants. These are wide ranging and the key question is what impact are we looking to assess and on whom. Further data and evidence of impact can be supplied on request.

 

  1. In past years a great deal of evidence has been collected by academics and others in the UK and internationally demonstrating the impact of our out-of-school hands-on science experiences on both school learning and family science capital. All these studies are available on request. ASDC is also working closely with the team at King's College on ways to assess family science capital and find ways to further increase it through our interventions. There is clear evidence that in families where one person works in science, (higher family science capital) parents are far more likely to inspire their children to work in science careers, meaning the investment is passed down the generations.

 

  1. Currently, few primary schools have even a single teacher with a science degree and it is clear there is a nervousness amongst many primary teachers to undertake chemistry and physics experiments with younger children. As local centres of STEM excellence, the Science Centres can easily support primary teachers in this, and capital investment in the facilities of the science centres is an easy and cost effective way to achieve this and support primary and other teachers right across the UK.

 

 

Reaching Diverse Audiences with Science

  1. The UK Science and Discovery Centres span all regions and countries of the UK and successfully reach out into a huge number of ‘hard to reach’ communities. Science Centres excel in this area, and are considered leaders in this field.

 

  1. UK science and discovery centres successfully attract and involve people from under-served and disadvantaged backgrounds. With the desire to share best practice, ASDC was commissioned by BIS in 2014 to write a national report on the range of programmes that successfully reach families high on the indices of multiple deprivation

 

  1. This report contains case studies, giving precise methodology, data and evidence from 22 UK Science Centres in how they engage families and schools from areas high on the indices of multiple deprivation.

The report is entitled "UK Science and Discovery Centres: Effectively Engaging Under-represented Groups." It was published in May 2014, contains contact details of who to contact if you want to find out details of how to replicate a programme and can be found online: www.sciencecentres.org.uk/reports/underserved/index.html. Science Centres and science communication groups across the UK and around the world have told us they are using the methodologies in this report to set up new programmes to successfully reach groups and sectors of society they have not already engaged.

 

  1. Science centres reach a cross section of UK schools. This is evidenced by a postcode data analysis of all the schools that took part in a single science centre programme run by ASDC, In the Explore Your Universe programme evaluation in 2015, involving over 1400 school children. 23% of school children taking part were from the 20% most deprived schools in the UK, a greater proportion than would have been expected on average. 97% of those taking part were from state schools, 3% from private schools, against a national figure of around 6.5% of school children being privately educated. .

 

  1. Science Centres provide bursaries or other schemes to ensure access to science by families and schools from areas that are high on the indices of deprivation. These schemes are popular and over-subscribed. Many of the most successful schemes are delivered inside the Science Centres (such as Golden ticket schemes and the like) and a number of schemes involve the science centre travelling out to the communities. Science Centres target their interventions carefully and have embedded relationships that have been built and sustained over a long period of time. Details of all the key schemes are in the ASDC report "UK Science and Discovery Centres: Effectively Engaging Under-represented Groups."

 

  1. When science centres target families from areas high on the indices of deprivation and invite them to the science centre for a weekend of science, these events are oversubscribed. For example, in Bristol, the Science centre ran a community weekend for 10 wards remote from STEM within the city. Each area is in the top 10% nationally on the indices of deprivation. Over two weekends, the event attracted 5,454 family members from that community, most visiting for the first time. This clearly demonstrates that groups remote from STEM will definitely visit a science centre when the events are suitably targeted, co-developed with community partners and free entry is offered on production of their invite. The bonus is, in vising the science centre, they have braved a new and perhaps unknown cultural resource and this might encourage them to visit other new places and experiences in their cities.

 

  1. In addition, to reach diverse audiences, many Science centres run vibrant outreach programmes. As an example of the numbers of participants to a single science centre, in one year, W5 in Belfast reaches 325,000 people who take part in their science events and activities. Over 80,000 of these are through outreach into rural and other communities across Northern Ireland. 127,000 are education users of W5. Using postcode data linked to demographic information, 68% of all participants in the W5 science programmes and activities come from demographic CDE with the remainder from AB or those who were not classified in this study.

 

  1. Overall, ASDC and UK science centres strive to increase engagement by families and schools in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. There are a variety of successful methods, but it is more expensive than simply opening the doors. Investment in bursary schemes for school children to visit for a workshop, and in proven successful schemes such as the family Golden Ticket Schemes in use in Dundee and other centres, are both cost-effective ways to rapidly increase engagement by these harder to reach groups.

Gender equity and science engagement

 

  1. This is an area that ASDC has worked in extensively and gender equity is championed by every UK science centre. ASDC is a UK leader in this field and as such was selected as the UK partner for a pan-European EU funded programme (Expect Everything) to create better gender inclusive methodologies to get more teenagers, especially girls, interested in STEM careers.

 

  1. In 2014 ASDC organised a Charrette, held at BIS, to bring together the top academics and practitioners in the UK in gender and STEM to make a determined leap forward in this area and to implement all findings through the STFC-funded Explore Your Universe programme. The results of this Charette were unanimous. Don’t teach girls physics separately. Don’t make things pink. Don’t single girls out. Simply create hands-on engaging involving experiments and challenges in a gender neutral way and along the way show lots of images and examples of men and women (in equal numbers) working in the physics and engineering fields you are discussing. Then run staff training sessions on unconscious bias, and gender bias similar to sessions run at Techniquest in Wales, and help girls to see that physics is just as much for them as for the boys.

 

  1. An academic team at Kings College London evaluated Phase 1 of Explore Your Universe. Remarkably of the 4,500 school students in the evaluation, there was no difference between the boys and girls answers. Their enjoyment, desire to study science and interest in a career in science was identical whether they were male or female. This is the largest informal learning study of its type, and the first major national physics and engineering programme to find no difference between boys and girls responses.

 

  1. All the recommendations from the Charette were implemented within Phase 2 of Explore Your Universe. Over 1,400 students were asked a series of questions and the report will be published in June 2016. Of the 10,717 school students taking part in the Explore Your Universe physics workshop for 10-13 year olds, 1,268 took part in the academic evaluation programme. The results show that:

 

Trends: Increasing demand for the type of high quality hands-on STEM engagement offered by Science Centres

  1. There is clear evidence of an appetite for excellent science engagement experiences. Many Science Centres are enjoying ever-increasing demand for their STEM services to the extent that physical capacity of the science classrooms, labs and other spaces are limiting their ability to deliver science activities. Families and schools are willing to pay for this highly engaging experiences.

 

  1. Numbers of people visiting science centres have been steadily increasing over the past years. This is through a combination of more closely finding out what visitors want, co-creating science events with visitors and sharing word of mouth recommendations as teachers and parents share stories of their visits. It should be noted that most science centres charge an entrance fee payable by families and school groups and it is clear that they will only visit if they feel the experience is good value for money. This is a group of people who vote with their feet and if they don’t feel the science experience is a good use of their time and money, they will not come.

 

As an example, Glasgow Science Centre had a record number of participants in 2015-2016, engaging 459,037 people. Of these:

 

Further examples of the increase in demand come from At-Bristol Science Centre and the National Space Centre in Leicester. For example, At-Bristol Science Centre has attracted 39% more visitors over the past 4 years.

 

  1. Science centres are turning away business from teachers and schools who want their school children to participate in great science learning experiences. They are turning away science and engineering businesses wishing to book spaces for events (which in turn funds the education and broadening access mission). Science centres are delighted to have secured a one off capital allocation ‘The Inspiring Science Capital Fund’ from BIS earlier this year, to fund much needed capital investment in Science centre infrastructure, to the tune of £20 million from BIS plus £10 million from the Wellcome Trust. This will help in the short term in funding a number of major infrastructure programmes across UK science centres and ASDC and the science centres are delighted with the creation of this fund. The criteria is still being detailed and we expect this fund will be accessible to future –focussed science centres that cannot access any public funds. In the longer term we would hope that science centres could apply for the sort of funding from the public purse that arts centres can apply for.

Further Evidence that demand outstrips supply at Science Centres includes:

 

  1. Science Centres have plans to grow their charitable and commercial operations with capital funds, including creating new science lab space, new science education spaces, school lunch spaces so schools can stay for the whole day and take part in multiple               science programmes, exhibitions and corporate event space to increase earned revenue, flexible spaces that accommodate for example schools in term times and during the day, and mission-enabling corporate and other science events at evenings, weekends and holidays.

Science is part of Culture

 

  1. In discussions about Culture, Science is often left out. As if science, and making sense of the world around us, is not a cultural pursuit. As an example, The Culture White paper, set out in March 2016 barely mentions science except when in reference to historical collections in our museums.

ASDC would recommend that a greater emphasis is placed upon Science being an integral part of UK culture. We would urge that vigilance is paid in Government to Science being included in all cultural decision making and overviews about the cultural life of the UK.

 

 

The Extent to which Public dialogue and consultation is being used by Government

 

  1. Good policy making requires firstly access to the evidence base, and secondly staff who have the scientific training and skills to use and assess that evidence base. We would recommend that in all areas of Government there are significantly more scientifically trained staff.
  2. ASDC is the UK partner on a ground-breaking International Dialogue Project called “CIMULACT”. This programme has been requested by the EU to ask citizens in 30 European Countries through a formal dialogue process what they want to see as the key priorities for the EU Horizon 2020 science research funding. The EU Horizon 2020 funding team will use the results of this project to shape where European science funding goes in the future. Interestingly, the first  results from the formal dialogue project in the UK and a number of other countries revealed that citizens most wanted H2020 funds to achieve a greater focus on improving social equality, and to create a greener and healthier future, for an overall better quality of life (measured in terms of health, happiness and time).

 

  1. Asking the public what they think and feel about scientific issues is vital. However if this is done, it should be visible, loud and open so that all those who would never usually give their views could be persuaded. Science centres would be happy to help in this arena. With 20 million visitors to comment in person, or a much greater numbers who follow via social media feeds questions can be answered very quickly. In contrast to an formal dialogue programme, this has the advantage of getting a similar response to the immediate reaction the public would feel on hearing about an issue. This enables misunderstandings to be identified and addressed at the outset, and concerns to be dug into a little deeper to understand if they are simple misunderstandings, or real worries shared by many that should change policy.

 

ASDC would be happy to give oral evidence on behalf of the sector.

 

May 2016

 


Appendix 1: Explore Your Universe: A National Science Engagement Project

Workshop Image (22).jpgIn 2011, The UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) began an exciting strategic partnership which brought together some of the most fascinating and diverse cutting-edge science in the country with the talents and infrastructure of the nation’s largest network of dedicated science engagement organisations. This pioneering partnership for the first time leveraged the reach and impact of UK science and discovery centres, which attract 20 million children and adults every year, for a research council.

The partnership began with a two-year national strategic programme called ‘Explore Your Universe: from Atoms to Astrophysics’, which had the goal of ‘inspiring a new sense of excitement amongst young people around the physical sciences by sharing the amazing stories and technologies of STFC’.

Phase 1 of this programme ran for two years (2012-2014). In the first year, ASDC worked with partners at the National Space Centre, Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre and the STFC facilities to create an exceptional set of hands-on activities, experiments, schools workshops, public shows, meet-the-expert sessions, website and a variety of other resources to share the inspirational science of STFC.

Ten UK science and discovery centres were selected through an open tender process to be delivery partners, and they were trained, equipped and supported to run all these inspiring activities and share STFC stories and technologies with their visitors.

In just one year of delivery, Phase 1 engaged 156,880 people through a range of activities, including curriculum-linked workshops, family shows and meet the expert sessions. Over half of those reached were women and girls. This included 45,852 people who met an expert engineer or scientist, 59,236 who took part in the half-hour family show in a science centre, and 9,400 school students aged 10-13 who took part in a one hour workshop. Also participating were 3,174 school students aged 14-16 who spent two hours exploring the latest science in the masterclasses, 1,225 teachers and 3,659 young people in ‘badged groups’ (brownies, guides, cubs, scouts etc).

Evaluation of Explore Your Universe: Phase 1

The overall programme was evaluated for impact and delivery by academics at King’s College, London. The evaluation results to date have shown that the programme has been very effective in engaging both families and schools audiences and that the programme has had a lasting legacy for the centres involved. One notable finding was that this physics and engineering programme had been equally successful in inspiring interest in both girls and boys. There was no statistical difference between the results of girls and boys on all the measures including those listed below. This had been a key goal in our development, and something ASDC and science centres aim for in all science programmes, achieved through design, delivery methods, language and the nature of what is delivered.

 

After a one hour intervention for 10-13 year old school students:

(Based on 2,222 school student responses)

After a 1-2 hour intervention for 14-16 year old students:

(Based on 1,616 school student responses)

Explore Your Universe: Phase 2

Phase 2 began in early 2014 and completed in March 2016. It has the goal of increasing the number and breadth of young people who are inspired to explore the physical sciences by expanding, supporting and further developing the highly successful ‘Explore Your Universe’ national strategic programme.

To achieve this, in Phase 2, we invited applications from new centres, through an open ITT, and selected 10 new delivery partners to deliver the whole Explore Your Universe programme. ASDC trained them via a training academy and supported them throughout as they began their delivery with schools and families. Our initial results show that the 10 Phase 2 partners engaged 76,865 school children and families in their Explore Your Universe schools workshops and specific family shows and events.

During Phase 2, ASDC also supported and enhanced the work of the first ten Phase 1 Explore Your Universe delivery science centres to ensure they kept at the cutting edge of science and continued the learning and delivery in this area of high-end physics and engineering. This is one of the key strengths of Phase 2 - that an army of professional science engagement staff across the UK, confident in STFC science areas and in the use of the equipment, are bringing all their organisational knowledge, schools and community relationships and embedded partnerships together to celebrate STFC science and UK science in publically accessible centres across the UK.

The full impact metrics and evaluation results for Phase 2 are in the process of being analysed for the final report in June 2016. Early information shows Phase 2 of the programme reached 180,128 people.

 

 


Appendix 2: Hands-on DNA: Impact of A National Science Project

 

'Hands-on DNA' is a national strategic project which aims to make highly engaging, practical molecular biology experiences accessible to students in all parts of the UK. These techniques are used routinely in the UK’s hospitals, labs and universities, but rarely seen in UK schools. The project was created and run by The UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC) with support from the Wellcome Trust.

The project team trained, equipped, mentored and supported staff in 15 Science Centres and museums in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to successfully deliver high-end molecular biology workshops to schools in their part of the UK. The first 1500 students and 150 teachers participating at the 15 centres (in the first 4 months of the project) were part of the project's evaluation study. Students continue to participate in these workshops at all the centres. Key results are below and full results can be found in the report on our website

Evaluation results from students aged 14-16 after a workshop

And their teachers said…

 

Evaluation results from students aged 16-18 after a workshop

Appendix 3: Destination Space with the UK Space Agency

C:\Users\Penny\Desktop\Astronaut Penny.jpg

Destination Space is a national STEM engagement programme led by ASDC and funded by the UK Space Agency. It has the vision of engaging, inspiring and involving families with school-age children, school groups and communities across the UK with the amazing stories, science and achievements of human spaceflight, as part of a national celebration of Tim Peake's Principia mission.

In partnership with the National Space Centre, Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre and the Science Museum, ASDC created and developed Destination Space, a national programmes for schools and the public. ASDC then selected, trained and equipped 20 UK Science Centres to run the full Destination Space programme, including an interactive hands-on family show, three curriculum-linked schools STEM workshops designed for ages 5 - 7, 7 - 11 and 11 - 14, a series of ‘meet the expert’ activities and a host of special events to inspire people across the nation with Tim Peake’s mission.

The resources of 20 UK science centres have been mobilised to deliver this national programme, offering families, schools and communities across the UK unusual and exciting opportunities to discover, question, test and explore science and the latest adventures in space science.

Since its launch in October 2015, the Destination Space programme has engaged and inspired 296,451 people including 31,030 who took part in specific schools workshops and events. In just the first 4 months of this ASDC programme, the science centres have exceeded their delivery target of reaching 250,000 people.

Special events, including Tim Peake launch events at science centres up and down the UK, attracted thousands of children and adults for a day of celebrations, and inspired minds both young and old with the wonders and exhilaration of human space flight.

ASDC and partners also created a Destination Space Website, www.Destination space.uk to enable people to continue engaging with the science and adventure of Tim Peake’s Mission online, completing mission modules and finding out which space crew role could best suit them.

Destination Space has already engaged 296,451 people with STEM and human spaceflight, and based on these numbers, the cost per head is already approximately £2.31. This will reduce considerably by the end of the programme in 2017 as delivery continues across the spring and summer of 2016 and beyond.

ASDC Map Nov 2015 copy-page-001.jpg

 

 

[1] Bell, P et al

[2] 2013: Wellcome Trust Monitor Wave 2